Flora, Fauna and Merriweather
by ItalianPrincess92
Summary: Flora gets an unexpected surprise when she adopts her first pet.  My first oneshot!


**A/N: I do not own any Professor Layton characters.**

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><p>Flora had always wanted a pet.<p>

From the time she was very young, she had had quite a love for animals, and had often wished for something that she could care for and call her very own.

The only thing that had ever come close was Claudia, Lady Dahlia's pampered and finicky feline.

There was only one problem: Flora hated her-erm,-him.

She had received many scratches from that furry demon, so she was sure that a cat was one pet she _didn't _want.

As she waited for Luke to arrive to work on a school project, her mind drifted to what other options she had.

_Dog? No. The Professor was allergic. _

_Hamster? That squeaky wheel would drive her mad. _

_Bird? Too loud._

_Mouse? Ew. _

_Turtle? No. Flora had heard that they had salmonella. _

_Rabbit? Nope. She was bitten once when she was four, forever traumatizing her. _

_Ferret? No. Her friend Lily owned a ferret. They had an unpleasant odor. _

Flora was feeling discouraged.

Seven possibilities were shot down. What other choices did she have left?

The doorbell rang.

Maybe Luke could help her decide.

-o-

"Are you daft?"

Flora left her spot on the sofa to pour herself another cup of tea.

"I think it's a good idea," Luke said from the couch.

"A snake? You know I hate snakes."

Unfortunately for Flora, the hope that Luke could assist her in picking out the perfect pet was quickly dashed, as all of his suggestions were merely animals that he would have selected for himself.

Flora returned to her place.

"I'm serious, Luke. Think!"

The boy let out a huff of annoyance. Clearly, he was getting frustrated.

"I don't know what you want from me!" he cried, waving his cookie in the air. "I gave you all the ideas I had!"

"Snakes, lizards and frogs? That's all? How about something that I don't have to feed insects to," Flora snapped.

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Why don't you just get a stupid fish, then?" he said quietly, a smirk of amusement on his lips.

Flora was about to retort when Luke's words registered.

_A fish! Of course! Why didn't I think of that before?_

"Luke! That's perfect!"

Her eyes twinkled with excitement.

His face fell.

"You're kidding, right? I was being sarcastic. A fish is a stupid pet. They don't do anything!"

Flora shrugged.

"So? I don't need a fancy pet that does tricks. Just something to keep me company. Fish-watching is very calming."

Luke raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"You mean boring?"

Flora cast him a sideways glare.

"No," she said flatly.

She then turned to Luke's backpack, which was overflowing with notebooks and papers.

"Come on," she said, getting to her feet. "Let's start on the report. It's twenty pages plus a diorama, and I would like to be finished before Christmas."

-o-

The weekend was welcomed with open arms by Flora who had spent the past four afternoons with Luke doing more arguing than actual work on their project.

She had underestimated the amount of research that needed to be done, and she was ready for a break.

Of course, this was not the only reason that she was excited for Saturday.

Today was also the day she was going to get her fish.

The automatic doors coasted open, as she, with the Professor and Luke trailing behind, entered the pet store.

"Hurry up, Luke," she urged.

She grabbed the strap of his shoulder bag.

"Wait! Look at this!"

Luke broke free of her grip and ran to a glass cage a few feet away.

Flora got closer, only to see a large onyx python inside.

She took a step backward.

The snake's forked tongue flitted in and out his mouth, and even from a distance, a hiss was audible.

"He's from the Ivory Coast!" Luke said, reading the little card next to the enclosure.

"He's gross," Flora said, wrinkling her nose.

Luke folded his arms.

"Hmph. For your information, these snakes are very docile. They make very good pets."

"No, thank you," she replied.

"Are you sure?" Luke took a step towards her, his voice lowered. "I talked to him. He likes you."

Flora groaned slightly.

"I'm sure."

She then took ahold of his sleeve.

"Come on, let's go. Before all the fish are gone."

"Trust me, they're not going anywhere."

-o-

"How am I going to decide?" Flora fretted.

Nearly fifteen minutes had gone by, and the young teenager had remained unmoved, staring up at the large tanks full of vibrantly colored aquatic dwellers.

"What do you think, Luke? Luke?"

No answer. She looked to her right.

Luke, who had been standing beside her, was now peering into a terrarium inhabited by three bumpy toads.

Flora sighed.

She turned to her left, where the Professor was.

"Professor, what do you think? Which do you like?"

"Hmm. Well, to be honest, I am quite partial to this one," he said, pointing to a petite tangerine colored fish. "It matches my top hat."

Flora giggled.

"It does! Okay, well..." Her voice trailed off.

"What is it, my dear?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking that if I just got one fish, she would be terribly lonely all by herself, especially after being with all her friends here."

"I see," the Professor said. "I suppose we will just have to buy another fish. After all, what is life without friends?"

"Really? Thank you, Professor!"

Flora smiled brightly and hugged him.

_Now, _she thought to herself, _to choose her tank-mate. _

-o-

"What are you going to name them?" asked Luke.

"Good question," Flora said.

The pair were in her bedroom, watching the new additions swim happily around their new surroundings.

Flora cocked her head to one side, watching the little creatures explore.

Suddenly, she gasped, which scared Luke.

"I've got it! It's perfect! Fauna and Merriweather."

Flora smiled, very satisfied with her ingenious choice.

Luke, however, didn't understand.

"What's that?"

"You know," she explained. "The good fairies from _Sleeping Beauty. _Flora, Fauna and Merriweather. I'm Flora-," she pointed to herself, "and they're Fauna and Merriweather."

"Oh," Luke said. "Well, how do you know they're girls?"

Flora studied them carefully.

Merriweather, the bitty orange one that the Professor had favored was looping around a seahorse figurine that Flora had placed inside.

Fauna, the bigger, more coppery one was near the bottom of the aquarium, hiding between a dark blue plant.

"I can feel it," she answered.

A few minutes later, Flora brought her hand to her mouth, trying to hold in a yawn.

Luke snickered.

"Are you _bored?_" he teased.

"Of course not!" she said quickly.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm just a bit tired. This school assignment is a lot of work."

"If you say so," he said with a small grin.

-o-

The next few weeks passed uneventfully.

Flora and Luke's project was coming along, "swimmingly," (as Luke had said), and Fauna and Merriweather were as happy as could be, and were growing fast, and were almost in need of a bigger aquarium.

Everything seemed to be going well...

Until...

-o-

"Luke?"

Flora was standing at the kitchen sink filling up the fishbowl when she called her friend's name.

Luke came in from the living room, a glue stick in one hand, and a tube of glitter in the other.

He was embarrassed to use something so "girly", but Flora had convinced him that it would make their diorama stand out.

"Yes?"

Flora gestured to a small plastic container that held the goldfish until their home was cleaned.

"There's something wrong with Fauna! I think she's sick. Look. She's got little white speckles all over her fins!"

"What?"

Luke set his craft items down on the counter and squinted into the dish.

At first, he didn't see anything, but soon, he understood what Flora was talking about.

Sure enough, little snowy dots were covering Fauna's fins and gills. If he didn't know any better, Luke would have thought that Fauna had dandruff.

He drew back from the vessel.

"I don't...I-I don't know what's wrong with her," he said.

Flora sniffled.

"I take very good care of them, though! I feed them, and make sure they have fresh water all the time!"

She rubbed her eyes.

"I'm a terrible pet owner."

Luke put a comforting hand on her arm.

"No you're not. I'm sure she's fine. Do you want me to ask her?"

Flora nodded.

Luke moved closer to the bowl and whispered something.

A few moments later, he gasped, covering his mouth with his hand.

He looked shocked, but not alarmed.

"What's wrong with her?" Flora asked.

Luke chuckled.

"Um, she's fine, except for one thing."

Flora tapped her foot. "What's_ wrong?_"

"She...is not a...she," he responded slowly.

"What?"

"Yeah... Fauna's a boy."

Flora's eyes widened.

"What!"

"He told me. Also, he's not sick. Those little spots are normal. They're for..._mating_."

Luke made a face as if that word was inappropriate.

"No. No, no no, no. This has to be a mistake," Flora said.

-o-

"This website also says that the male will chase the female. Has he been chasing her?"

"Y-yes. I just...I just thought that they were playing. I can't believe this."

Flora stared, dumbfounded at the laptop screen.

"It's alright. This is good news. You're going to be a grandma!" Luke joked.

"Just what I always dreamed of!" Flora laughed.

Luke closed the laptop.

"Before I forget, he wanted me to tell you something else," Luke said.

"What's that?" she asked, her head resting against a pillow.

"He'd like a new name."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you all liked it! Please R&R!**


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